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25.01.2022 Very profound DISAPPOINTING ANOTHER In any close relationship, we will inevitably disappoint the other and let them down.... This can be incredibly activating, especially if our role in early relationships was to set aside our own needs, where tending to the other was the primary way that we received love and attention. In a field of narcissistic organization, we are not seen as a subject in our own right, but as an object in the perceptual field of another. Our sense of worth is derived by how well we are able to regulate and care for the emotional needs of that other. Especially at a young age, this is a very tenuous situation to be placed in. For many, we will do just about anything to not disappoint, for to do so opens the doorway to seemingly unbearable feelings, images, and impulses. The invitation, as always, is to slow way down and bring curiosity, awareness, and kindness to our experience in these moments as we begin to encode new circuitry. What is it like for you to disappoint someone? To let them down? To fail at living up to their expectations, no matter how hard you try? What are the core beliefs that arise during these times, the feelings that you will do just about anything to get out of, the habitual behaviors you engage to avoid a direct confrontation with your own embodied vulnerability? What do you imagine the consequences will be if you are not able to make them happy, or remove their anxiety, emptiness, self-hatred, and the pain of their unlived life? Will you be abandoned if you disappoint them? Or will you be the target of rage and attack? Will you be shamed? Unsafe? Should you just go ahead and try to make them feel better at all costs, even if detrimental to your own integrity? To what degree have you come to organize your life around the unconscious belief that your role is to urgently heal, fix, and cure the other when they are upset? And for those of us who identify with being healers, therapists, or counselors of any kind, what does it mean about us if we are not healing, but disappointing? Its some very rich territory that we can investigate, as alchemists and archeologists of soul a whole fountain of sacred data we can mine in this experiment. It is an act of mercy and compassion, for both ourselves and others, to take some time and explore this. Matt Licata

25.01.2022 Medication wont cure Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD.) If youre a holistic practitioner or healer, you...ve probably worked with clients with post-traumatic stress symptoms. Some clients arrive at my clinic having diagnosed themselves with PTSD or C-PTSD and a few ask me if medication is an answer to their distress. Medication can help the symptoms of PTSD and C-PTSD, but over time, new symptoms tend to pop up. You can usually only suppress symptoms for a limited time. Thats because the PTSD wants to be addressed, and it uses symptoms to get attention to heal the root cause of the traumatic stress. Of course, thats not an easy thing to accept when you're highly symptomatic and your life is being torn apart...but help your clients address the underlying dysregulation causing the PTSD, and theyll do better than survivethey will thrive as the amazing human being they already are. Ive a number of clients who requested anti-depressants from their GP and then have asked my opinion on whether they should take them. Clients sometimes feel disappointed in themselves and the therapeutic process, and those who are philosophically opposed to medication often criticise themselves for not being able to climb out of the hole theyre in without a prescription. As a psychotherapist, its my professional duty to support my clients autonomous decisions, and without going beyond my scope of practice, I can reassure them that pharmaceuticals can work in their best interests. I find its usually best to be neutral and supportive if a client is considering taking anti-depressants. When a client asks for your opinion, they don't want to hear about your scope of practice. Of course you can't say anything that is beyond your scope, but back-pedalling out of the conversation altogether won't help your relationship with your client at all. I usually begin by telling them that before starting on anti-depressants, it can be useful to think about how they will come off them. The longer they stay on them, the more carefully they will have to do that. The type of antidepressant can be a factor when making a withdrawal plan. I encourage them to find out what category of drug they have been prescribed. It's better to come off SSRIs in the summer months because the body chemistry doesn't feel so deprived of melanin when there are more hours of sunshine to make it. Advise making a plan to get safe sun exposure during the withdrawal period (just 15 minutes a day with shoulders bare). I also suggest they time their withdrawal for when they are out of their familiar environment and normal routine a holiday is ideal. For many people, it takes approximately two-months to come off them if theyve taken them for twelve months or less. Expect a longer withdrawal process if theyve been on medication longer. Its important to normalise all possible scenarios you have no way of knowing how long your client will need to keep taking them. Then I give my client the freedom to choose to not take them by letting them know about the scientific research. Studies have found that the outcomes from taking antidepressants are no better (or worse) than the outcomes from therapy. If theyre not sure they want to take medication, I will ask them if they have considered getting a mental health plan referral to supplement our work. I strongly encourage them to see a mental health practitioner as often as they can at least every two weeks. Then I let them know that the research also supports the outcomes of medication and therapy combined. I tell them that pharmaceuticals can help regular, targeted psychotherapy be even more effective. Although there is a large volume of published research investigating treatment options for veterans with PTSD, to date, there are no studies of people with C-PTSD. Thats because the official psychological manual of mental disorders (the DSM, 5th edition) does not recognise C-PTSD as a mental health condition. The reasons why there aren't more effective ways of treating C-PTSD is rooted in red-tape, bureaucracy and research funding that is limited to disorders listed in the DSM. Fortunately, the European equivalent to the DSM has paved the way for change by admitting C-PTSD into the International Classification of Diseases (ICD, 11th edition) so theres hope for a change in the next edition of the DSM. In my small-group program, the topics of boundaries, scope and ethics are part of the training curriculum. They're introduced in a way that is non-confronting, interesting and engaging - not the usual end of course mandatory tick boxes activity. The training program is delivered live, over 10-weeks, in an intimate group online setting. If you want to know more about my practitioner training program, message me for a free, obligation-free chat.

24.01.2022 After educating others in mental and physical health for several years its opened my eyes to how people regard the importance of their mental wealth and physical health. When I ask, people usually say their top priority is their health, especially when they are not feeling 100%. However isn't interesting when we do have our health how we push it down the priority list. We can't be bothered cooking dinner so settle for a drive-thru, choose to open one more bottle of wine or ...stay up for another hour scrolling through Facebook. I've noticed most people wait till something goes wrong with their mental wealth or physical health and then start hunting for a pharmaceutical or natural remedy to bring them back to good health. Natural health encourages you to be more proactive, supporting optimum well-being to avoid getting ill in the first place. For eg: Louise L. Hay says influenza is a response to mass negativity, fear and beliefs. You don't have to be part of the majority. Choose not to be. CHOOSE for your health to be your wealth! CHOOSE your mental wealth! Come along and find out how!!

23.01.2022 Very very interesting!

23.01.2022 When you are busy counting your blessings, you switch your energy state from lack and limitations to abundance and manifestations. I am blessed is a declaration and a deep feeling that you trust the universe. You are always taking your mind from the repetitive cycle of looking for whats wrong to seeing whats right in your life by celebrating your blessings now. This powerful way of thinking and speaking has shifted my life. It uplifts your mood, it opens doors within your ...spirit, and takes you on a journey of bliss. Happiness is a choice by being busy declaring you are blessed so you change how you feel. You will no longer wait for circumstances to change to be blessed or happy. You are speaking it now. Shifting your mind and welcoming whats already yours. Your attitude is the most important thing happening in your life not whats happening. Adjust your mental thoughts by calming blessings now. Theres so much good happening in your life. Theres things you might not even notice because your mind has made you forget whats real. The truth is, you are blessed. You have always been. You just choose to recognize it when something happens! That way of living only takes away from your everyday happiness because youre waiting for things to happen to feel blessed! Celebrate now. Count your blessings. Look around you. Look inside you. You are extremely blessed! Idil Ahmed

22.01.2022 This too shall pass https://blogs.bmj.com//mary-e-black-covid-19-this-too-sha/

22.01.2022 This is what depression feels like for most..... http://powerfulmind.co/worse-than-just-being-sad/

21.01.2022 Pooh woke up that morning, and, for reasons that he didn't entirely understand, couldn't stop the tears from coming. He sat there in bed, his little body shaki...ng, and he cried, and cried, and cried. Amidst his sobs, the phone rang. It was Piglet. "Oh Piglet," said Pooh, between sobs, in response to his friend's gentle enquiry as to how he was doing. "I just feel so Sad. So, so, Sad, almost like I might not ever be happy again. And I know that I shouldn't be feeling like this. I know there are so many people who have it worse off than me, and so I really have no right to be crying, with my lovely house, and my lovely garden, and the lovely woods all around me. But oh, Piglet: I am just SO Sad." Piglet was silent for a while, as Pooh's ragged sobbing filled the space between them. Then, as the sobs turned to gasps, he said, kindly: "You know, it isn't a competition." "What isn't a competition?" asked a confused sounding Pooh. "Sadness. Fear. Grief," said Piglet. "It's a mistake we often make, all of us. To think that, because there are people who are worse off than us, that that somehow invalidates how we are feeling. But that simply isn't true. You have as much right to feel unhappy as the next person; and, Pooh - and this is the really important bit - you also have just as much right to get the help that you need." "Help? What help?" asked Pooh. "I don't need help, Piglet. "Do I?" Pooh and Piglet talked for a long time, and Piglet suggested to Pooh some people that he might be able to call to talk to, because when you are feeling Sad, one of the most important things is not to let all of the Sad become trapped inside you, but instead to make sure that you have someone who can help you, who can talk through with you how the Sad is making you feeling, and some of the things that might be able to be done to support you with that. What's more, Piglet reminded Pooh that this support is there for absolutely everyone, that there isn't a minimum level of Sad that you have to be feeling before you qualify to speak to someone. Finally, Piglet asked Pooh to open his window and look up at the sky, and Pooh did so. "You see that sky?" Piglet asked his friend. "Do you see the blues and the golds and that big fluffy cloud that looks like a sheep eating a carrot?" Pooh looked, and he could indeed see the blues and the golds and the big fluffy cloud that looked like a sheep eating a carrot. "You and I," continued Piglet, "we are both under that same sky. And so, whenever the Sad comes, I want you to look up at that sky, and know that, however far apart we might be physically...we are also, at the same time, together. Perhaps, more together than we have ever been before." "Do you think this will ever end?" asked Pooh in a small voice. "This too shall pass," confirmed Piglet. "And I promise you, one day, you and I shall once again sit together, close enough to touch, sharing a little smackerel of something...under that blue gold sky." We all need a piglet in our lives. #besomeonespiglet #itsokaytobepooh #SeeThePersonNotTheIllness #mentalhealthmatters #EveryMindMatters #itsoktotalk #everylifemattersinfife #itsoknottobeokay

21.01.2022 A seriously interesting read

19.01.2022 An incredibly insightful article about the links between childhood trauma and chronic illness. https://www.elephantjournal.com//the-undeniable-link-betw/

19.01.2022 Remember that you are loved by visible and invisible forces... Remember that a problem is a solution trying to take place, a solution that wants to change your life for the better. Remember that your words hold power...Speak kindly.... Remember that your life is your creation... Finding fault with others is a refusal to take responsibility for how you feel. Transform your own energy and you will assist others in transforming theirs. you are the creator, not the victim. Remember that you are here to love, first yourself and then others... Everything else is just a choice as to how you spend your time. Remember that you are perfect, you are not broken, everything about you serves your humanity and your divinity... There are no mistakes only lessons that help you to remember who you truly are. Remember to take care of your body... listen to it and obey it's instructions... You only get one this time around. Remember to enjoy your life, it is fleeting... you are unique, one of a kind... No one can offer what you can contribute to this world, so acknowledge the beauty that you carry, accept yourself as you are... You are a gift. Caroline de Lisser

19.01.2022 A very interesting read!

19.01.2022 Sis, the inability to receive support from others is a trauma response. Your I don’t need anyone, I’ll just do it all myself conditioning is a survival tacti...c. You needed it to shield your tender heart from abuse, neglect, betrayal, and disappointment from those who could not or would not be there for you. From the parent who was absent by choice or by the circumstance of working three jobs to feed and house you. From the lovers who offered sexual intimacy but no offered no safe haven that honored your heart. From the friendships that always took more than they gave. From all the situations when someone told you we’re in this together then abandoned you, leaving you to pick up the pieces when isht got real, leaving you to handle your part and their part, too. From the lies. The betrayals. You learned along the way that you just couldn’t really trust people. Or that you could trust people, but only up to a certain point. Ultra-independence is a *trust issue.* You learned: if I don’t put myself in a situation where I rely on someone, I won’t have to be disappointed when they don’t show up for me, or when they drop the ball... because they will always drop the ball sooner or later, right? You may even have been intentionally taught this protection strategy by generations of hurt women who came before you. #generationaltrauma #ancestraltrauma Ultra-independence is a preemptive strike against heartbreak. So, you don’t trust anyone. And you don’t trust yourself, either, to choose people. To trust is to hope, to trust is vulnerability. Never again, you vowed. But no matter how you dress it up and display it proudly to make it seem like this level of independence is what you always wanted to be, in truth it’s your wounded, scarred, broken heart behind a protective brick wall. Impenetrable. Nothing gets in. No hurt gets in. But no love gets in either. Fortresses and armor are for those in battle, or who believe the battle is coming. It’s trauma response. The good news is trauma that is acknowledged is trauma that can be healed. You are worthy of having support. You are worthy of having true partnership. You are worthy of love. You are worthy of having your heart held. You are worthy to be adored. You are worthy to be cherished. You are worthy to have someone say, You rest. I got this. And actually deliver on that promise. You are worthy to receive. You are worthy to receive. You are worthy to receive. You are worthy. Worthy, sis. You are worthy. You don’t have to earn it. You don’t have to prove it. You don’t have to bargain for it. You don’t have to beg for it. You are worthy. Worthy. Simply because you exist. I love you. ~J. . Credit: Original image by Rising Woman, reposted from The Womb Sauna. Commentary by moi, Jamila White (FB: http://fo.me/inspiredjamila, IG: @inspired.jamila) Permission to share/repost is gladly granted as long as: 1. It is kept in its original, unedited form; and 2. Full authorship credit is given with my name. A link/tag is appreciated. Thank you!

19.01.2022 Trauma informed practice

16.01.2022 Beautifully written

14.01.2022 Interesting reading!

14.01.2022 Check out the photos from our Christmas Dinner in Perth. Such a wonderful night thank you to the fantastic Photographer Brandan Cecich! Thank you again to our... suppliers and volunteers who helped make this night the success it was. *Note: consent has been granted by all participants of these photographs

14.01.2022 The problem is, We look for someone to grow old together, While the secret is to find someone to stay a child with! (Charles Bukowski)... What does LoVe mean to 4-8 year old kids? Slow down for a few minutes to read this... A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does love mean?' The answers they got were broader, deeper, and more profound than anyone could have ever imagined! 'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore... So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.' Rebecca - age 8 'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.' Billy - age 4 'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.' Karl - age 5 'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.' Chrissy - age 6 'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.' Terri - age 4 'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.' Danny - age 8 'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and just listen.' Bobby - age 7 (Wow!) 'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate.' Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet) 'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day.' Noelle - age 7 'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.' Tommy - age 6 'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.' Cindy - age 8 'My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.' Clare - age 6 'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.' Elaine - age 5 'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.' Chris - age 7 'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.' Mary Ann - age 4 'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.' Lauren - age 4 'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image!) Karen - age 7 'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross...' Mark - age 6 'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.' Jessica - age 8 And the final one: The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, 'Nothing, I just helped him cry.' (this made me cry!) Now, take a few seconds and post this for others to inspire and spread LoVe like butter! And then be a child again today!

13.01.2022 Cut yourself some slack folks!

13.01.2022 You just need to nurture your soul and take care of yourself right now. Let things clear out of your life. Dont hold onto what needs to exit. Dont force anything to stay the same. Its all about change and growth. Release and let go. Reorganise and reprioritise what you value. You have to start taking care of your inner-self. At the end of the day, its about you loving yourself. It's you who has to make sure that youre okay. It's you who has to hold yourself together. It...'s you who has to decide to keep going. No matter whats challenging you or testing you, dont overthink it or overreact to it. Find a balance somewhere within you where you stop playing these games with yourself where you get so caught up and pulled into something that only leaves you drained. No everything deserves your energy. Remember, your attention is very valuable. Your thoughts are very valuable. Your emotions are very valuable. Where are you spending your valuable energy? Is it worth it? It it adding onto your life? If it moving you forward? Be real and be honest with yourself. Only you know your inner world and if your inner peace, mental wellness, and evolution is your priority then youll just laugh at situations that try to test you or pull you in. Youre no longer playing that game with yourself or others. Youre moving forward to a new state. A new mindset. A new world within yourself where you finally thrive instead of reacting every second. At the beginning it might feel like youre getting pulled in but youre only learning. Youre discovering that you have the power and control of self. You have the choice every minute how you respond. You decide what happens next. So practice stepping back and observing. Practice seeing things for what they truly are. Youll realize its not even worth it to get mentally and emotionally caught up. We always regret when we expend too much energy into saying things we dont mean. This is meant to help you refine your inner self so you have more self-awareness to do and be greater as a human. Choose your inner peace every single day. Idil Ahmed

13.01.2022 Food for thought

08.01.2022 All emotions are neutral. They have no meaning other than the meanings we assign to them. An emotion is like a burst of energy that quickly circulates around the mind and body, indicating that there is an imbalance that needs to be brought into balance. The moment you experience a burst of emotionally charged energy, suspend all judgment of yourself for feeling whatever it is and ride it out.

08.01.2022 Ever wondered what its like living with anxiety, depression, etc?

08.01.2022 A former child bride, Berivan Elif Kilic, was recently elected mayor of Kocakoy, a town of 17,000 in southeastern Turkey. Under Turkish law the legal marriage a...ge is 17; however, child marriage is still common in parts of Turkey, and Kilic was forced into marriage at 15. After years of abuse, she divorced her husband five years ago and became a champion for women’s rights in her community -- a path that culminated in her recent election as mayor. Since her divorce, Kilic has been working hard to help other women who are victims of domestic violence and, in the process, she has had to challenge entrenched social attitudes about women’s rights. As Kilic explained, They told me: 'your mother was beaten, your granny was beaten, you'll be beaten too.' They accepted this as their fate, but I said to women: 'defend your rights'. Kilic is now one of the first ever female officials of the Kocakoy municipality; until the March 30 elections which brought Kilic and two other female council members to power, there had never been any female administrators. Unsurprisingly, one of Kilic’s top priorities is boosting women’s rights and giving women greater educational and economic opportunities. She has also discovered that her experience has given many other women hope: Look at me: I have no education, no job, and yet I am the mayor now. Women have been attending my rallies in droves. They say: ‘If Berivan can do it, so can I.’ Kudos to Berivan for taking a stand -- first for her own rights and well-being and now to help other women in her community! To read more about her story on the Daily Beast, visit http://thebea.st/1efRrv8 For an excellent multimedia report from National Geographic on the "Secret World of Child Brides," about the plight of the over 100 million girls in developing countries will become child brides in the next decade, at least half of whom will be 15 and under, visit http://bit.ly/lVJ7ig To teach older teens and adults about the warning signs of an abusive relationship and how to get help, a useful resource is Stop Signs: Recognizing, Avoiding, and Escaping Abusive Relationships at http://www.amightygirl.com/stop-signs If you’re a parent concerned that your daughter may be in an unhealthy relationship, check out the books But I Love Him: Protecting Your Teen Daughter from Controlling, Abusive Relationships athttp://www.amightygirl.com/but-i-love-him and Saving Beauty From The Beast: How to Protect Your Daughter from an Unhealthy Relationship at http://www.amightygirl.com/saving-beauty-from-the-beast In our "Abuse/Violence" section under "Social Issues," we also have a selection of selection of books, especially for teen readers, that address issues of violence. There are a number of excellent choices, perfect for sparking conversation around this important topic, including "Speak," If You Find Me," "Hush," "I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This," and others. To browse the selection, visit http://www.amightygirl.com/books/social-issues?cat=61

06.01.2022 Cecilia is diagnosed with schizophrenia and was first featured on SBSK three years ago. While filming she was symptomatic. Since then, she has worked hard to le...arn new coping skills and improve her mental health. Today, Cecilia is the founder of an organization named Students With Psychosis that is helping people around the world who experience psychosis. See more

06.01.2022 Poet Hussain Manawer speaks of his darkest struggle in the most imaginative way. We wish for you to share his message, and help him change the world. Instagram: @hussainmanawer

05.01.2022 It’s tough out there at the moment... COVID.. bushfires... look after one another!!

02.01.2022 If your mental health has been affected by COVID... you are not alone https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au//three-quarters-of-a/

02.01.2022 Well worth the read!